


Phantom Handler

by blueharlequin, bonesandchekov (blueharlequin)



Series: Blue's 007 Fest 2020 Fics [8]
Category: GoldenEye (1995), James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond (Movies), James Bond - All Media Types
Genre: 007 Fest 2020, Alec Trevelyan-centric, Assassination, Double Agents, Fanon Alec Trevelyan, Fix-It of Sorts, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Pen Pals, Team Civilian, Timeline Shenanigans, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:47:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25481884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueharlequin/pseuds/blueharlequin, https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueharlequin/pseuds/bonesandchekov
Summary: Alec finds out about Blofeld’s series of manipulations in Bond’s life.
Relationships: James Bond/Alec Trevelyan, James Bond/Q, James Bond/Q/Alec Trevelyan, Q/Alec Trevelyan
Series: Blue's 007 Fest 2020 Fics [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812157
Comments: 25
Kudos: 118
Collections: 007 Fest Fancreations





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In this timeline, Arkhangelsk happens shortly after the events in Quantum of Solace, Bond meets up at with Alec since he’s already in Russia. IMHO, the events in Goldeneye are easily transferrable to the current Bond timeline.
> 
> I write for fun, Grammarly is my beta

It is just a little too clean the way that Ourumov plays his part. The thing that tips Alec off is the explosives, James is never careless. If he had changed the timers, then it was because he had believed Alec was dead and that was not what the mission brief had entailed. Too many aspects of the mission were vague and it made him nervous. James showing up at the last moment to assist, his contact being switched out unexpectedly, especially after learning Mitchell had been turned, the whole thing stank of deceit.

For the first few months, he plays his part, the double agent, passing information between the Russians and MI6 then establishing himself as Janus. The Cossack thing was just an excuse if anyone wonders why he went rogue. His father had committed murder-suicide because he was mentally ill, not because Alec’s grandparents were betrayed by the Brits. After establishing a foothold in the local criminal underworld, he then starts digging into what is obviously a mole in MI6, or at the very least someone manipulating Six for their own agenda.

It becomes obvious that it isn't about him. The ruse appears to be a plot to hurt James, and turn him into another weapon to hurt James. So Alec reluctantly starts sifting through James' history, from every intimate detail of every lover to every wronged party in every mission. He hits a dead end somewhere around the death of James' parents. He knows he's getting close when the assassination attempts step up; not all of them being from his Russian rivals.

He doesn't actually find Spectre so much as they reach out to him with an armistice. He knows it's not a lucky break, he must have pinged something somewhere, so he's extra careful when Ernst Stavro Blofeld starts sending him intermediaries. "Wouldn't be nice to get revenge on the partner that left you for dead?" they ask. Or try to entice him with, "Would you like the resources to decimate that country that betrayed you?" He volunteers Xenia and Ourumov to work with them, all the while digging deeper and stealthily sabotaging the projects they send him.

However, the information dries up when he connects James foster brother, Franz Oberhauser with Blofeld. Then a godsend appears, a file mysteriously surfaces in his email with the subject _–This might be worth your while–_ It's one of Spectre's sex trafficking operations. He, of course, verifies it before acting on the information. As Janus, he's built up a significant network of contacts and connections. Alec then begins to silently wage war against them, shutting it down and gaining more information.

The next email that comes up has yet another juicy tidbit for him _–How about a little skiing trip?–_ He really should be more suspicious, but there is something about the nature of the emails that twigs his interest. He finds Madeline Swann and after a bit of persuasion, she directs him to a hotel in Morocco. However, he doesn't follow through with it right away. The hidden room is a treasure trove of information but Alec prefers to plan ahead instead charge into another villain’s lair, why go in guns blazing when you can starve them out instead?

Uncannily Spectre reminds him of that thrice-damned entity, Hydra, cut off one head and two grow in its place. He's been dividing his attention between building his syndicate and keeping track of Spectre as they try to infiltrate his operations. Once he's made sure everything can run smoothly and he has contingencies to get out of the game if need be, he focuses why they always seem to have the upper hand when tangling with MI6. At this point, he quietly exposes Ourumov’s criminal activities to the FSB and conveniently has Xenia murdered by a rival gangster. The two of them attempting to steal a satellite on Spectre’s behalf would likely send a red flag to the intelligence communities of the world.

When he finds out about James falling to his _death,_ he raises his glass and wonders when the man will meander back to England. Then the MI6 headquarters blows up and his contacts tell him Bond has gone back into the fold. The emails slack off for a while but come back full force after M dies. Alec doesn't mourn her at all, the old bitch always seemed to have it in for him, but he's unhappy on James' behalf. He never understood the man's relationship with her, but he could recognise that James felt some measure of warmth for her. Really, it was the longest relationship James had ever had with a woman that Alec could recall.

Months go by and the emails continue, most of it is intel but occasionally there is a snippet of something more personal. The first non-Spectre related email is simply a picture of chubby Russian Blue cat. Alec stares at it for a while, noting the bookshelf behind it and the plush green sofa it's perched on. He feels like he should be watching out for a honeypot of some sort, but if that was the case, it's an extremely long con the man on the other end is running. He's not too worried, it helps that at last, he heard they had cleaned house and found the mole. For the first time, he emails back, wondering if it’s safe or if it will even get to his mysterious contact. **–What is his name?–**


	2. Chapter 2

The picture sending becomes a regular thing. His email ghost sends him another kitty a few days later. This time it's a chocolate point Ragdoll sitting on a countertop next to a kettle and a steaming cup of tea. It's not the cat that immediately catches Alec's interest, but the long slim fingers resting beside the cup of tea. It's a very poignant reminder that there is a real person behind all of the information he's using.

A few days later he receives a detailed brief on a shipment of guns coming out of Baku. A group of gun runners has been encroaching on his operations and this was the perfect opportunity to steal their merchandise out from under them. He looks over the intel again and realises that it's not connected to Spectre at all, it's simply for his own use. He scrolls through the email again and notices he missed the last attachment.

He has to get up and stare out of the kitchen window for a moment after looking at it. It's a picture of James. He doesn't recognise the sofa he's napping on, but he looks peaceful if a bit patched up with plasters all over the place. There is a reflection of dark tousled hair in the file cabinet behind him, but besides that Alec can't make out any other discerning features. He does the only thing he can do in response. Alec wanders out the door and spends a few moments in the dying sunlight trying to get the picture right. He attaches the photo of his garden and sends it on his way. He's not bothered that the greenhouse in the background has a clear reflection of him in it. By now, if MI6 as a whole knew he was alive, they would have done something about it.

 _–Feel like a mission 006?–_ Alec rears back from his computer when he sees that one. He’s figured out by now that his helper is probably someone in high up in Q Branch who has access to all of the 00s files. Someone James is comfortable enough with to nap in his presence. He had kindly sent Alec the final mission report on James' fiasco with Raoul Silva. What a mess that turned out to be, but at least James had rid himself of the yoke that was his ancestral home in the process. Alec goes out for a smoke and a turn in his garden before he comes back in and opens the attached dossier.

A little while later, he sits back in his chair and huffs out a dark laugh. He’s now extremely intrigued about his phantom handler. And really that’s what he is since he’s essentially just asked Alec to assassinate two targets. He’d met Mr White once when Spectre had first contacted him. He notes that it is basically Kabuki theatre he will be performing, as Spectre will undoubtedly be watching. The second is Blofeld himself, and it’s contingent on possible information that White will give him.

It's at the stage where four years of planning has reached the culmination point. He writes back, the subject of his email reads **–If you provide the kit, I think this is a better alternative–** He attaches the all of the intel he’s complied in the last month. Blofeld will be in Rome in a few days and Alec has his entire itinerary. He also knows if he goes anywhere near Mr White those plans might change. Additionally, he includes all the information he’s gathered about Spectre’s involvement with the Nine Eyes program.

He gets an email back telling him that it is an excellent plan, and details for his equipment will be provided shortly. A day later, Alec arrives at the Museo di Palazzo Doria Pamphilj. He wanders a bit before stopping in front of Caravaggio's _Penitent Magdalene_ where a young man in a hoodie is bowed over a sketchpad. He watches charcoal move gracefully over the paper before turning his back to the student and studying the painting. Besides them, the room is empty and after a few minutes, he hears the man leave. Alec turns and picks up the case left next to the chair, meandering out of the gallery in no hurry. His only thought as he traverses Rome's streets is whether or not the student was his contact or an intermediary.

Alec arrives at the building Spectre is using almost half a day before the meeting begins. He has already cased it twice and found all of the hidden exits. The gun he was given is a work of art, sleek, beautiful with an economy of design that makes him want to sing praises to its creator. The angle down into the gallery is sharp but not difficult. He has chosen it because it's specifically situated to where he can see the entire table yet also keep an eye on the balcony around it. He settles in to wait with the patience born of a hundred or so such endeavours.

The moment Blofeld calls out to James, Alec puts a bullet through his head. He sends another through his chest for good measure. The other members scream for someone to take out Bond, or take out the shooter, and Alec spares a moment to put another bullet through the large man barrelling towards James. Meanwhile, his partner is running up the stairs scanning for his location and Alec knows he's only got a few moments to slip away. He's gone and out of the building when James gets to his nest and finds the Q branch prototype sniper rifle and a melted timer. By the time he's on a plane, James is drinking vodka in a hotel room staring at the two items he's left behind and working himself into a strop.


	3. Chapter 3

Alec's been a day back in St. Petersburg when his ghost emails and tells him that M killed Blofeld's lackey Max Denbigh in the new intelligence building during a skirmish. He also notes that MI6 has exposed the Nine Eyes project for what it was. The emails taper off again and Alec knows it's because Q Branch is probably up to their ears in cleanup. So he is unprepared when a new message arrives after a few days.

 _–Would you like to come back to MI6?–_ the email asks. He leaves it up on his laptop for a week, staring at it for a few minutes each day. When he finally reads it, he sees that it contains a huge dossier about his extremely long term deep-cover mission in Russia. The email ends with _–I can give this to M and have him call you in, or I can give this to M and tell him you’ve dropped out of contact, either way, the mission objective has been accomplished and there should be no repercussions–_ By now Alec has to face the fact that he's known for quite a while who he’s been communicating with, but didn't want to acknowledge it.

 **–Will I be able to see you?–** It's vague and he's pretty sure he doesn't mean see him there at MI6, but most of the time he seems to understand Alec's thought patterns regardless of the concise manner of his correspondence. His mouse hovers over the send button, and it's really ridiculous the way he's hesitating. He clicks and away it goes. They've never met and yet Alec is placing all of his faith in the man on the other end of his communication.

 _–Yes, under any circumstance–_ the response comes almost immediately and Alec wonders just how terrifyingly skilled the head of Q Branch is.

He's not normally so indecisive, but in reality, he had never thought he would be able to return to England. **–I need time–** he finally replies, hoping the other man understands.

 _–I will be here–_ There's a picture attached. It's the charcoal drawing from the gallery, but it's not a copy of the _Magdalene_. The young man had left before Alec could see what it was turning out to be. It was a very skilfully drawn copy of _John in the Wilderness_ , but Alec is the one depicted. He wonders at the meaning of it and deduces that he'll never know until he asks the artist. He prints out the picture and tapes it up next to the coffee machine, the only place that he will see it every day.

Alec doesn't reply the next day or even the day after that. He's had plans in the works for ages now if he ever decided to leave Janus behind, but he might have been foolish to believe in them. He knows for certain that the identity has become an inextricable part of him now. Nevertheless, he starts by closing down a few of his operations, liquidating his properties and merchandise. He keeps some of his more legal ventures going and puts in place his contingency plans. He's never going to be one hundred per cent sure of a rosy future, but it is second nature to be prepared to cut and run at any moment.

His clandestine companion must have lost his patience waiting for him to answer because James is sitting in his kitchen when he gets home a week later. Alec is both wary and elated because after all these years he doesn't know how James will react. There's only a fleeting bit of disappointment that his pen pal did not come as well.

"James." He says, leaning against the door.

The man sets down the glass of scotch he was drinking and his fingers brush a piece of paper on the table. Alec sees that it's the charcoal drawing that has been haunting his days. James glances down at it thoughtfully, "Image my surprise when my current lover sends me out on a mission to retrieve my _supposedly_ _dead_ lover." Alec feels the tension in his body leave as he sighs in relief. James is undoubtedly unhappy about being kept in the dark but he is still glad that Alec is alive.

James slowly gets up and moves toward him, telegraphing his movements. Alec lets him approach and James places his hand on Alec's scarred cheek as he looks him over in concern. "All those years," James says before his lips meet Alec's. The kiss is slow and deep and filled with pent up emotions.

Alec breaks it before it can turn into anything more. "Are you sure he's okay with this?" he asks.

James chuckles, "I should be asking you that. You've known him longer than I have." Alec blinks in surprise. James rests their foreheads together and says, "I always wondered why he was so indulgent yet prim with me even though we had only just met. It wasn't until after Rome that he revealed the truth about your _resurrection_. I think he only told me because you left behind an unmistakable calling card. We had quite a row over it."

Alec loops his arms around James' waist. "I wasn't planning on returning to Six, all of this was because we were trying to keep you safe," he murmurs, moving in to fully embrace his lover. They stand there for a moment basking in each other's presence.

James hums considerately, "I need you both, more than I need to be safe, and I don't care if you work for Six or if you retire and spend all day bloody _gardening_." He pulls away after a moment and motions towards an envelope on the table. "Let's go home, Alec."

**Author's Note:**

> Please check out [Anyawen's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anyawen/pseuds/Anyawen) wonderful remix of this story [Betrayals and Truths](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25644709)


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